Editor's Note: Today we introduce a new Times pet columnist. Abby Faulkner is a Macalester College graduate working in St. Cloud who has had personal experience with various pets.

As a writer at the beginning of a new project, I can't help but recall the same little nugget of trade wisdom: Just write what you know.

It makes sense. I'm a graduate of a creative writers' workshop. Today, I'm a full-time copywriter for a marketing firm, churning out work-related topics that require crashcourse expertise. I love my work, and I'm good at it, but I don't typically have the luxury of really writing what I know.

Happily, as a new St. Cloud Times columnist, I'm thrilled that I get to write twice a month about something I know pretty well.

Pets.

Dogs. Cats. One very fat, doglike rabbit. Several wily hamsters. A serious resume of reptiles.

The list is long. Frankly, throughout my 29 years, there hasn't been a point when critters weren't a big factor.

These days, I count myself among the ranks of the "crazy dog people" with Larry my very perky, neurotic, Oklahoma-born, Minnesota-rescued, beagle/rat terrier mix. There's a ton of material there, but we'll get to that later.

One thing I know for sure: No matter how long you've had your animal companion, there's always something new to learn. That's a given. Even a lifelong pet owner can get confused or concerned and benefit from another's experience.

I plan on loading this column with helpful advice, but there's more to it than that. After all, why do we keep pets? It's definitely not because we need more responsibilities. If your life is anything like mine, you're already pretty booked up.

Nope. I think it's definitely because our pets, species aside, give us a certain kind of happiness, companionship and comfort that we don't really get anywhere else. In my experience, my pets have looked after me even as I've looked after them.

So, in this column, we're going beyond the "hows" and "whats" of pet ownership. We're going to dig into the relationships we have with our pets, and how those relationships inform and enrich our own lives.

Like I said, you just have to write what you know.

This is the opinion of Abby Faulkner. Contact her at Abby.faulkner@gmail.com.